


The things we see from behind the mask

by insomnikat



Series: The roles we play, the Kakashi and Sakura love we deserve [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU Hyuuga Hinata, BAMF Hyuuga Hinata, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Headcanon, am I hinting? I'm hinting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24575035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insomnikat/pseuds/insomnikat
Summary: It's not easy being ANBU in the Rokudaime's security roster... especially when your husband is his former student.The side-story of ANBU Hinata in the world of the Roles We Play series.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Hyuuga Hinata & Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: The roles we play, the Kakashi and Sakura love we deserve [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588960
Comments: 9
Kudos: 112





	The things we see from behind the mask

**Author's Note:**

> In my headcanon every talking ANBU part in _The roles we play_ was Hinata and this one-shot more or less solidifies that. Dedicated to Barr9968.

_This man... is our Hokage_ , was her first, baffled impression.

_Surely he can’t last much longer,_ was her second, more reasoning train of thought.

Hinata tried not to visibly wince or show her growing frustration as the Rokudaime poked at the unassuming brown bag sitting on his desk for the one-hundred-and-forty-seventh time that hour.

He stared at it, tipped his head to the side, and stared some more. He poked the corner of it. _One hundred and forty-eight._ Never in her life had an hour felt so long and frustrating, and that now included giving birth to an Uzumaki son.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. The silver-haired Hokage was missing a strategy meeting with Jounin Intelligence for this. Her gloved fists tightened at her side to restrain herself from striding over and opening the bag for him. _Cookies!_ She wanted to exclaim. _Delicious, oatmeal and cranberry cookies!_

Before starting her first-ever shift as ANBU security for the Hokage, Shikamaru had briefed the newly recruited squad on some of the Rokudaime's... peculiarities.

Patience, certainly, had to have been one of the qualifying talents they all had in common.

Hinata had some previous experience with Kakashi when he'd briefly captained Team 8 missions during Kurenai's pregnancy. She knew his nose was as keen as Kiba's. He would know by scent alone what was in the bag and who had left it for him. So why, then, the persistent and increasingly frustrating poking?

“COOKIES,” her teammate blurted irritably after Kakashi prodded the bag for the one-hundred-and-forty-ninth time. Their squad leader face-palmed their mask.

The Rokudaime looked up, blinked as if noticing them for the first time, then smiled warmly with his eyes. “Ah. Yes. I don't suppose any of you would know if these were from her first or second batch?” He folded his hands on the table and stared intently at the bag some more.

ANBU security were sworn to secrecy and discouraged from speaking directly to the Hokage unless absolutely necessary. Keeping their identities hidden helped maintain a professional distance. But Kakashi hadn't reached the position he was in now without some talent for observation. He must've somehow deduced they were new to his security roster.

“The others prefer to stand post across the tower,” he murmured, as if talking to himself and not as if he’d accurately guessed their train of thought.

Hinata glanced at their squad leader. Their head inclined slightly in resignation before nodding. _Go ahead_ , the gesture meant to say. _You can’t possibly do worse damage._ “Second,” she answered and surprised herself with how alien her muffled voice sounded.

How Hinata knew the answer to his question had little to do with the particular skill-set and talent she was recruited for and everything to do with the fact that she’d helped Sakura distribute the cookies earlier that morning at their children’s daycare. For all Kakashi could know, she just revealed herself to have some special tracking ability. Which was true, but not in any way that would’ve confirmed herself as a Hyuuga.

Ever since the embarrassing incident at the bath house last year, Shikamaru had required every team in the Hokage’s security detail have at least one expert tracker. Remembering the gossip surrounding the incident made her cheeks flush beneath the mask.

Kakashi smiled with satisfaction and leaned forward to prop his head lazily on an open palm. “But why not a card?” he sighed. He glanced at each of their masked faces briefly before returning his gaze to the bag on his table. “Welcome to my life.”

**———**

The week Boruto started daycare was the week Shikamaru approached her about the position. “It’s strictly security detail and you won’t be sent out on any missions unless you want to. For the most part it’ll probably be boring but... well, he is Hokage.”

“But I’m only chuunin,” she reminded sheepishly.

“There are no true ranks in ANBU.”

“Why me?”

The Rokudaime’s right-hand man sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Because ANBU is stretched thin right now. Because you’re married to the next Hokage. I don’t have a Hyuuga on his security detail and I _need_ people who can find him even when he doesn’t want to be found.”

Hinata fidgeted with her hands nervously. It was true, things would be more dangerous for her family when Naruto eventually took on the title. She wanted to be ready for that.

When she’d said yes to Shikamaru that day, she’d convinced herself she was doing it for her family. For the honor of the Hyuuga name. For Naruto. But in retrospect, Hinata realized she’d done it for herself.

Over the next few months, she worked discretely towards getting back into shape and mastering her clan’s more advanced Gentle Fist techniques. It felt good to move, to feel her blood-limit flow through her and to flex its potential.

Hinata normally took the early morning and day shifts in the Rokudaime’s security roster. The latter coincided with Boruto being in daycare and the former gave her a reason to regularly train with her sister while Naruto spent the morning with their son. She wasn’t technically lying to her husband— she did spar with Hanabi after her shift had ended.

It helped that Kakashi was fairly predictable in his routine. Almost boringly so. Early morning was only ever the most interesting shift because the silver-haired shinobi was notoriously bad at sleeping and randomly wandered in those early hours. It was why tracking was made an essential skill. But in terms of guarding the Hokage, his otherwise predictable routine meant vulnerability and the real challenge, it turned out, was staying vigilant throughout the shift.

When Kakashi started making time for Sakura, it was like a breath of fresh air. Hinata had been watching him for some months by then and formed the impression that, outside of work, he had very little to suggest a personal life. He ate, he trained, he read, and he slept. On rare occasions, he might do the first two with someone else. But he was, almost always, alone.

Like everyone in his security roster, Hinata observed and welcomed Sakura’s gradual inclusion into his everyday life. First, because everyone knew Sakura was the finest medic Konoha currently had in residence. If anything ever happened to the Hokage while he was with her, she could heal him without fail. Second, because it introduced variability to Kakashi’s routine.

It didn’t strike Hinata as anything worrisome, at first. Relations between a teacher and student, especially with everything Team 7 had been through together, was a lifetime bond. With the Fourth having been Kakashi’s teacher and Naruto marked to be the future Seventh, theirs was a bond likely to be inherited in further generations.

Hinata pursed her lips. That is, if Kakashi ever grew fond enough of someone to be able to pass down the Hatake name. From what she’d seen, he seemed content to spend the rest of his life alone. _Though that’s not entirely true either_ , she amended silently. As Hokage he was never really _alone_ alone. But even surrounded by the people who were supposedly closest to him, Hinata couldn’t help but sense a detachment about him. The ever-cool and mysterious Hatake Kakashi. She didn’t think anyone could touch him.

Then came the first morning she was redirected to Sakura’s apartment for an early morning shift.

The Rokudaime was fast asleep on the couch. She could see and hear Shikamaru talking with Sakura in the kitchen. The medic-nin looked tired, agitated, and was still in her pajamas. Hinata leaned discretely towards her teammate and whispered. “What happened?”

“Chakra poison. Iron’s test.”

Behind the mask, her pale eyes widened with surprise. She looked again at the sleeping man they were supposed to guard— _really_ looked at him with her Byakuugan —and confirmed everything else she needed to know: Sakura’s chakra filled most of his system. The medic had burnt away the tainted chakra and replaced them with her own.

The Hokage stirred and everyone instinctively hovered closer to the couch.

Sakura looked upset. She hid it behind angry words but she had clearly been shaken by the events. There was something very familiar about the way the medic-nin flustered and turned her gaze away from Kakashi when he’d caught her hand and apologized. It made Hinata tip her head curiously.

Perhaps he was not so indifferent, after all.

Kakashi’s early morning wanderings all but ceased after that incident.

They started having lunches together and some logs of their regular evening dinners tempted Hinata to take a stab at a few night shifts as well.

She _accidentally_ ran into Ino in the shops one day and, after discerning that the blonde was clueless to what was happening between her best friend and the Hokage, casually dropped that Sakura had recently accepted an invitation to the Shinobi Alliance ball.

“An opportunity that can’t be wasted!” the blonde had cried as she dragged Hinata excitedly towards the fashion boutique.

She swelled with pride as her and Ino’s plan was materialized on the dance floor, with Sakura radiant and Kakashi basking in her reflected joy. To see them both so happy was a rare and magnificent sight. It was all Hinata ever really wanted— to see the silver-haired shinobi smile, truly smile, and enjoy himself in the company of others for one night.

What she hadn’t anticipated was the yearning looks they stole of each other after the dance, when they thought no one else was looking. It made Hinata’s gut grow uneasy.

She’d been on duty that fateful morning, before dawn, when Sakura confronted Kakashi and the rain fell hard enough to wash away the lines of propriety between them. Hinata’s heart raced as she watched with bated breath, horror, and guilty excitement. The Rokudaime’s mask fell away in a reveal far better than anything she’d ever seen in a daytime soap opera and _he'd kissed her_.

She was the last to fall back at Kakashi’s curt dismissal. She joined her squad as they stood uneasily, at a distance, and watched the apartment curtains draw closed. Their duty was to protect the Hokage from immediate threats to his life, _not_ prevent him from recklessly living it. That day, the Fates chose to make their job that much more complicated.

Looking back, maybe it shouldn’t have been so surprising how things had developed. She felt some shame in the part she played bringing them together. Yes, he’d been lonely and so had she. Yes, Hinata had wanted them to find comfort and happiness with each other.

But he’d been her sensei. It never occurred to her that THAT particular line could ever or would ever be crossed between them.

When Naruto happily announced he’d be acting-Hokage while Kakashi took a medic-issued sick day, her gut twisted nervously. She’d never kept a secret like this from him before.

Hinata wasn’t sure how long she could.

Then Sasuke came back and she just _knew_ this was the kind of worst-case scenario Shikamaru had recruited her for.

The entire ANBU security roster was tense and uneasy that week. She watched helplessly as Kakashi fell into barely concealed heartbreak and despair.

It was only a matter of time before something cracked. Broke. Or suffered a complete and utter melt down.

Hinata spent the whole week when she wasn’t on duty glancing anxiously at the skyline for signs of a battle. The contingency plan, should Sasuke discover the affair and let his rage get the better of him, required every available ANBU to be activated immediately.

In the end, it wasn’t necessary. In typical Kakashi-fashion, the Rokudaime insisted on taking on the dark avenger all on his own... and paid the price.

The only thing that hadn’t been planned was Naruto’s presence at the confrontation. Fortunately, Hinata had been there to stop him from making things worse.

It didn’t stop the look of betrayal on his face, though, from haunting her the whole way home from the forest.

**———**

Naruto was waiting for her in the kitchen, his back turned to her when she arrived.

“I never lied to you,” she started cautiously as she removed her mask.

“You weren’t entirely honest either,” he replied through clenched teeth.

“It’s the job.”

“I know,” he growled. “I _know_ it just... SUCKS not having something to punch.” Reflexively, she reached out to him but he shook his head and waved her away. Hurt blue eyes met hers in understanding and a small smile touched his lips. “Don’t worry. My ego heals fast.”

Hinata clasped her hands in front of her and echoed his smile with a hopeful one of her own. "I'm glad."

Naruto rubbed furiously at his brow, looked her over appreciatively, and allowed himself a half-grin. “ANBU looks good on you _.”_

"Thank you." She tucked her hair shyly behind her ear and lowered her gaze. Then, remembering herself and the _other_ reason she’d rushed home, she quickly made her way to the bedroom to change. She heard Naruto start to follow when the pitter-patter of little feet intercepted him. Boisterous cries and laughter instantly dispelled the tension that had been lingering in the apartment.

When Hinata reappeared at the door in civilian clothing, she found her two boys play-wrestling on the floor. They both looked up at her and smiled. She tried to return the smile but it wavered on her lips. “You need to check on Sasuke. I’ll take Boruto today.”

Naruto scratched his head as he got up and sighed. “Ah. The idiot didn’t blow anything up so that’s good, right?” His grin disappeared at the sight of her pursed lips. His eyes narrowed. “What happened?”

“Kakashi is in the hospital. I still need to get Sakura there.”

The blonde groaned and stomped his feet in frustration— a remnant of his old fits. “That idiot,” he muttered under his breath. “Can’t leave him for a minute without getting himself banned.”

Hinata placed both hands on her hips. “And what would you have done if I wasn’t there?”

Naruto looked away sheepishly. “Made sure no one died... eventually.”

Hinata sighed and gathered their son into her arms. She chewed her bottom lip pensively. “I did it for us.”

A hand fell reassuringly on her shoulder. “I know. I’m actually damn proud you did.” He shook his head in disbelief. “ANBU!”

Her expression softened with relief. “Thank you.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that.” He huffed and pulled her and Boruto into a fierce hug. “You don’t need to. Wait till after I make sure Sasuke doesn’t destroy the village.”

Hinata couldn’t help but laugh. “Go save the day, hero.”

“I will,” he flashed her his signature Uzumaki grin and winked. “But only because you saved me first.”

**———**

Later, much later, while she lay in bed and held her husband in her arms, he asked her. “Ne... you’ve seen him then? Without his mask?”

Her face turned a scarlet red. It was at a distance but she’d definitely seen more than just his face at the bottom of the cliff that morning. “Classified,” she just barely managed to squeak.

He curled more comfortably against her and she could feel tension in the way his fingers curled against her skin. “Do you think it’s a mistake?”

Hinata drew in a deep breath. She weighed her answer carefully.

“No.”

Naruto raised his head and searched her for an explanation.

She cupped his face and smiled. “Love never is.”

His face contorted weirdly before he chuckled. “You saw it too, then?”

“I watched it grow,” she admitted. Smiled again. “I don’t think you have to worry about them being lonely anymore.”

**———**

It was nice to have picnics together.

They’d never been as close as they should’ve been when they were younger, but now that they were all ‘family Team 7’ Hinata was secretly happy to call Ino and Sakura _sisters_.

They packed away the leftovers from a delicious lunch and sat comfortably together on the garden lawn. The women watched and laughed as their respective partners and children ran around and tumbled in the grass a few metres away. Maybe it was the fact that Kakashi still had his Hokage robes on, but he seemed to be the favoured target of the toddlers’ play today.

Little hands got hold of the corners of his white robe and, in a matter of seconds, the Rokudaime was toppled and buried under a pile of tiny, shrieking children.

Ino rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I can’t _believe_ that man is our Hokage.” She flashed an impish look at their pink-haired friend. “And that _you’re—_ ”

“Yes?” Sakura cut in, a single brow raised in a dare. Everyone giggled.

“He’s very good with children.” Hinata offered softly as a means of changing the direction of their discussion. Both medics nodded in general agreement.

“Yeah.”

Sakura sighed wistfully and watched Kakashi remove his robe and wrap it around her daughter’s small shoulders. Ino’s pale eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Uh oh. What’s that for?”

“What?”

“That look. The _‘I’m lonely and longing for something faraway’_ look.” She’d seen her friend wear it a hundred times before when the subject had been Sasuke. “Except without the lonely part.” Her eyes narrowed further. “Maybe,” she amended dubiously.

Sakura’s cheeks blushed furiously before she could press her palms to them and look away. “It's nothing. I just...” she sighed again.

Sensing the juiciness and the secrecy trailing the sigh, both Hinata and Ino leaned in closer. “Yeah?”

Sakura shook her head furiously and laughed. It dispelled some but not all of the nervous energy that had suddenly surrounded her. “I... I just... I’ve thought the same too, that’s all.”

“Yeahhh?” the blonde purred again. She elbowed her friend playfully on the arm but didn’t push her for more. It was still a delicate subject, after all.

Hinata said nothing but her smile brightened as a cool breeze washed over them pleasantly.

The women turned their attention back to the Rokudaime, still struggling and failing to get away from the determined children holding him down.

“The Will of Fire is particularly strong in those ones,” Yamato said aloud from the lazy comfort of a nearby hammock. He yawned and flipped casually through Kakashi’s current _Icha Icha_ novel.

The Rokudaime reached vainly over to him as Sarada clambered onto his back triumphantly. Wary grey eyes looked up at Naruto and Sai standing over him, arms folded and smirking, doing nothing to help him.

“You’re done,” the dark-haired shinobi stated coolly. “You lost when you let her get on top of you.”

Naruto laughed wickedly. “You can’t last much longer.”

Kakashi lay his head down, defeated, and groaned. Where was his ANBU when he needed them?

Sarada grabbed a fistful of silver-white hair and yanked victoriously. The Rokudaime disappeared in a puff of smoke and the children squealed with delight as they rolled off a large log.

A hand fell on each of the men’s shoulders and squeezed. Naruto and Sai turned to see Kakashi shaking his head. “Traitors. Both of you.”

“If we helped you they’d have gotten us instead,” said Sai flatly.

“You’ll catch on soon enough,” Naruto laughed again.

Silver-white brows rose curiously at the mischief that lingered in their smiles. “Oh?”

The blonde shrugged and stepped aside as the children grabbed hold of the older man again. He winked.

“Welcome to our life.”

**———**

**Author's Note:**

> I had trouble figuring out how to end this so I went with the dialogue I started with. 
> 
> Guess what? I've been mulling on at least TWO more installments to this series. So I'm definitely not done with this KakaSaku. ;)
> 
> Between stories I can be found musing at [Substack](https://insomnikat.substack.com/?no_cover=true). _Come at me_ with your KakaSaku love!


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